The University of Sioux Falls used stingy defense to hold Crown College to just 26.5% shooting from the field to cruise to a dominating 77-33 win Saturday night in Sioux Falls, SD. Tonight's victory makes USF 2-0 at home and 3-6 on the year.
The game was over early. USF opened the game on a 24-2 run over the first 10 minutes of play.
USF extended its lead to 30 points near the four minute mark, when Skyler Bloch found Keith Cutler cutting to the basket for an easy layup. Crown would put just 13 points on the board in the first 20 minutes of play and trail 41-13 at the break.
The Cougars outshot the Storm in the first half, where they shot 51.5% from the field, while holding Crown to 5-25 to shoot 20% from the field at the break.
USF continued their dominance in the second half and would break open a 40 point lead with 10:08 to go in the game, as James Rader got to the rim for another easy layup.
Four minutes later the Cougars claimed their largest lead of the game, when Alex Robey knocked down a 3-pointer to give USF an 70-22 lead with 6:32 to go. His 3-pointer was just USF's fifth of the game.
The Cougars didn't need the long ball, as they outscored Crown 36-4 in the paint and turned 22 Storm turnovers into 26 points to record a 77-33 win at home.
With the large lead fans saw Coach Johnson play 15 players, which helped account for 37 bench points for USF.
Derek Brown led USF for the third time this season, scoring 13 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Skyler Bloch closely followed with 10 points and five rebounds. He finished 4-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line.
Freshman guard Bretson McNeal took full advantage of increased playing time. He posted a career high 10 points, finishing 2-3 from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds.
USF returns to action Friday when they travel to Laramie, Wyo. to face the Cougars second ever NCAA DI opponent in the University of Wyoming. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are still available in the USF athletic offices.
